A Hero's Return
by Fauxstales
Summary: A short continuation of my "Wings of Freedom" fic done as a Secret Santa gift for izzyninjajedi! (Rated T for Titan violence)


Arthur called it a suicide mission; Alfred called it a challenge. Nearly eight months had passed since Alfred's discharge from the hospital in Trost, and the young man's former corporal had been with him every step of the way. It had only been within the past week, however, that the duo had been assigned to a mission outside the walls, and Arthur was none too happy about it.

"Are you certain you're ready? I may not have as much power in this branch as I did with the Military police, but I'm certain I could pull a few strings…"

Alfred, who had busied himself with arranging his gear on the back of his beige mare, shot Arthur an incredulous look over his shoulder.

"You said yourself that I needed to test out the limits of the equipment, and this seems like a perfect opportunity to me!"

"I would prefer an option that doesn't end i your certain death."

"Good to see that decreasing in rank hasn't affected your snarkiness at all."

Arthur crossed his arms, giving the youth a once-over. Over the years he'd known him as a trainee, and even now as a surviving member of the Survey corps for nearly two years, he'd certainly changed physically. Yet through it all, he remained Alfred. Even the loss of his left leg (and subsequent gain of an artificial one) had presented but a minor set-back to his life goals.

"Good to see your ego didn't suffer any damage during your temporary reassignment."

Alfred flashed the man one of his intoxicating smiles and winked.

"We're just a match made in hell."

The sudden sound of hoof beats called the pair to attention as Captain Hanji Zoe trotted towards them. She had become quite fond of Alfred after he expressed interest in learning more about titans and was Alfred's favorite superior in return (next to Arthur, of course).

"All ready for your recon mission, Al?"

the bright eyed woman called, slowing her steed to a crawl as she neared.

Alfred's expression exuded joy, literally bouncing in front of his own horse to greet her.

"You bet, ma'am! Thanks for giving Arthur a chance-" Alfred lowered his voice to a whisper, " he's a big of a scaredy cat when it comes to battles outside the walls."

Hanji gave a belly-shaking laugh, starling both animals and men alike.

"No problem, Al! This is more an observation run than anything. We've been seeing some unusual Titan activity down by the South village just beyond the walls. The inhabitants have long since evacuated, so we're curious to see what's causing them to gather."

Alfred stood at attention and gave the salute, practically beating a hole in his chest with his furiousity.

"You can count on us, Captain!"

Hanji grinned before kicking her horse and galloping off to join where the rest of the camp was gathered.

"Scaredy cat?" Arthur's voice creeped from behind the younger man, prompting Alfred to spin around to face him. "_who_, pre-tell, was the one that saved your life, not once, but two times now when faced with situations 'outside the walls'?!"

Alfred recoiled from the venom in his words, tripping over himself. Almost immediately Arthur was on him, supporting the lad with one arm as Alfred's right slung about his neck. The two stood there suspended for a short time until Alfred was able to steady himself. Instead of separating, he laced his other arm behind Arthur's head and gazed up at him fondly.

"Third time's the charm."

* * *

It had taken them little over an hour of straight trotting to reach their destination. After hitching their horses to a post just outside the town, they continued their investigation on foot. Arthur remained cautious and battle ready, blades drawn and finger on the trigger should danger arise. Alfred, on the other hand, had preoccupied himself with snooping in every nook and cranny. He discovered collections of baubles and house ware, bones that he hoped were some wild animal's remains, but no evidence of a struggle of Titan origin.

"So far it looks clean to me."

Arthur shushed him.

"What?" Alfred rasped back.

"Your big mouth would alert any Titan for miles. Did you retain anything from your stealth training?"

"Oh, don't go into 'teacher' mode on me. You're the one who presided over the graduation ceremony and, if I remember correctly, praised me for what an 'outstanding' trainee-"

"Shhhh!" Arthur shushed him more vehemently than before.

He stopped in his tracks, swiveling his head to the right to spy just behind a dilapidated cabin. As if a switch had been turned on his brain, Alfred's demeanor completely changed. He drew his blades and waited for the possible assault. Yet a few tense seconds passed with no pay off and Alfred lowered his weapons.

"Must have been a bird or something." he remarked, continuing through the village.

"Or something." Arthur conceded, following suit.

After some time exploring, it became obvious that nothing was there. The more they looked, the more obvious it became.

"Well that was a total flop!"

Alfred finally exclaimed when they came to rest at the doorstep of one of the smaller cabins.

"Abandonment at the moment doesn't mean abandonment all the time. If you'll remember, we've been charged to stake out through the night if decreed necessary."

"Is it necessary?"

"It would seem so."

Pumping his fist in the air in triumph, Alfred lead the way back to where their horses were to prepare.

While it was common knowledge that titans normally weren't active at night, traveling nomads in the earlier hours of dusk and dawn might seek settlements as refuge. As the daylight waned, the two set up camp on the outskirts of the cluster under the relative refuge of a grove of trees.

"So one sleeping bag or two tonight?" Alfred inquired as if this were a nightly ritual.

It was a few seconds before Arthur had process what he'd said, tossing a pillow at the younger man's face in response.

Alfred laughed and went about his bedding routine unrolling his cot. When all was said and done, it was nearly dark and there was still no sign of any Titans. Deciding to forgo the ten, t he two sat in silence, remaining in full gear, wide-eyed and vigilant for changes-at least one of them was.

"So bored."

"Then tend to the horses."

"But they're sleeping."

"Then polish your gear."

"It's already blinding."

"Count the STARS then!"

The lack of retort intrigued him, forcing Arthur to divert from his observation to see if his companion had already taken up the task. Instead he found himself face-to-face with Alfred, forcing him to pull back a bit in surprise.

"Done already?" he asked, attempting to hide his flustered state.

"I lost count after about twenty."

The look in his eyes told Arthur that he wasn't about to leave him be.

"Then what-" Arthur surrendered, putting his blades down, "would you propose we do?"

Alfred didn't leave much room for debate as he closed the gap between he and Arthur, locking lips. Arthur recoiled back at first, Alfred following suit, but gradually accepted his advances. What his partner lacked in experience, he made up for in enthusiasm, and since their relationship had become more open, this enthusiasm had only increased.

With renewed vigor, Arthur laced his fingers through Alfred's hair, supporting the back of his head as he retaliated with his own kisses. He could feel the contented smile spread across his lips as they inched apart for a second to promptly return to one another's arms.

* * *

Arthur was the first to awaken, the weight on his chest all the confirmation he needed of Alfred's safety. It was just before dawn, and the last dark shadows of night were beginning to fade. He gazed down fondly at his companion, curling about him ever tighter until Alfred's eyelids fluttered open.

"Still alive?"

This phrase had become somewhat of a morning ritual for the couple. With their return to the Survey corps, and the multiple near death experiences the two had encountered in their relatively short lifetimes, the reassurance of simply even breathing each day was a gift.

"Still alive." Arthur recited back, stroking Alfred's hair fondly.

Eventually the two parted and broke camp, readying themselves for conflicts that might arise with the return of the sun. Alfred was growing more and more restless by the hour. It wasn't long before they made their rounds, located their horses, and began their trek back to Trost.

"Well that expedition was a total waste!" Alfred remarked in a disgusted manner, kicking his steed faster to keep up with Arthur's larger stallion. "Though it did feel great to be back out in the field again. I only wish-"

"Bite your tongue." Arthur snapped, "The sheer stupidity of your next statement baffles me."

Alfred had barely begun to smirk when the thunderous sounds of heavy footsteps drowned out their horses' hooves. Looming in the distance, and coming upon them at a rapid pace, was a 15 meter class Titan. It was male in shape, light-skinned with a mop of dark hair and bulbous nose. Its head was lopsided and far too large for its body, but this did not seem to hinder its progress, heading straight for them. Alfred let out an exclamation of delight as Arthur inwardly cursed. At least it seemed to be alone.

"Looks like it's finally action time!" he cheered, looking across the way to where Arthur rode alongside him.

"Just don't get in over your head. You haven't tried dismounting at top speed onto a moving target. Act as the decoy and I'll-"

"No way! I'm sorry, Art, but this one is mine. You've already had your fun."

Without another word, he dug his heels into the sides of his mare and curved wide to the right, shouting back,

"Besides; who's the one who's been in the Survey corps longer, huh?"

Arthur's hands gripped the reins in a strangle hold, envisioning them as Alfred's neck instead. However, he surmised that the Titan was far too close to change battle plans now. He'd have to reprimand him later should they survive this ordeal.

As Alfred had swung right, Arthur veered left in hopes to capture the attention of the creature. It worked, and quicker than Arthur had predicted the Titan was nipping at his heels. Arthur pressed his horse onwards, spying out of the corner of his eye a brown spot getting into position at the rear. Alfred had managed to slide out of his stirrups and step on to the saddle, fighting to maintain his balance. Just as it seemed he was about to fire his gear to overtake the Titan, a sudden dip in the plains caused his mare to fumble. The shriek the horse let out demanded Arthur's full gaze just in time to see Alfred's left leg falter with the increase in weight. Horse and rider toppled, flinging Alfred a few feet ahead of her and attracting the interest of the Titan.

Lightening quick, Arthur spun himself around and cantered to his companion's aid.

"OI! MONSTER!"

he shouted at the Titan, but to no avail.

He watched Alfred struggle to regain his footing as the shadow of the colossus loomed over his frantic form. He'd, by sheer luck, hung on to his blade, and was threatening to thrust it into the eyes of his attacker should it dare to get close.

Arthur would ensure that wouldn't happen.

One hand pressed against the saddle for support, he pushed himself up off of his stallion's back and stood, feeling the heaving sides of his horse's labored breath beneath him. He fought to steady himself and waited until the precise moment to fire his gear. Finally when he was within striking distance, he pulled the trigger, simultaneously brandishing his blades in mid flight as he aimed for the Titan's shoulders. He landed, dead on, and pierced its hot skin, utilizing gravity to slice a large gash down its back with the force of his swing. A cloud of steam billowed up as the Titan halted mere feet from Alfred. Arthur drove his blade deeper and detached it to act as an anchor to move back up towards the nape of the neck. He retracted his cables and, like an acrobat, pulled himself up on the flat side of the blade to flip and spiral through the air, coming down hard on the beast's skull.

The Titan raised its hands up, clawing at the gnat that was causing him so much discomfort. Arthur merely snapped off the blades, vaulting from the head and turning about to face his target and latch onto the back of its palm. Meanwhile, Alfred had reclaimed his wits and rushed the Titan's legs, cutting the tendons at the back of its left heel. As the Titan began falling to the ground, Arthur moved with the angle of the arch his decent created, gaining the much needed altitude to swing from his cable, loop around, and slice the wedge off its neck.

The titan let out a deep-throated, guttural growl, and landed face first in a pile of smoke and dissolving flesh. Arthur followed soon after, bending his knees to brace for a landing and wasting no time crossing the distance between he and Alfred. As soon as he was able, he hoisted the man up by his collar to glare at him directly in the eyes.

"What the bloody hell happened?!"

"I just lost my footing and I-"

"This is why I told you to act as the decoy. WE hadn't practiced this in training and yet you were

consumed with being Humanity's hero that you put us both in danger!"

"I couldn't help that the horse tripped! This useless leg gave out on me!"

Alfred's gaze fell towards his left knee, the prosthetic limb having twisted nearly completely around, causing Arthur's gut to wrench but finding slight comfort in the fact the man felt no pain from it.

"You have to know your limitations, Alfred. You're capable of so much, but not if you blindly race through obstacles and get yourself killed. After all you've worked for…"

The rage in Arthur's voice had begun to fade as his grip slacked. In all honesty, he hadn't been this frightened since the last time Alfred had encountered the Beastly Titan.

"Please, Alfred," he dropped his hands to his side, allowing his partner to stand on his own, "Heroes have to think about those they come home to."

Arthur didn't protest when a strong pair of arms encompassed him, squeezing him tight in apology.

Their reunion lasted only a moment, as a snort from one of the horses brought them back to reality. Waiting patiently a short ways away stood both of their mounts.

Thankfully, Alfred's mare had remained relatively unharmed, and the young man praised her resilience and good behavior. The rest of their journey home was uneventful, although their explanation to Hanji wasn't. All in all, they had decided to postpone any further investigations until all the participants were ready, much to Alfred's chagrin.

* * *

That night, Alfred and Arthur lay beside each other, Arthur protectively wrapped about the middle of the other.

"In the end, you know Hanji's decision was the right one."

"Mmm…"

"You're gaining strength and proficiency daily, but you still need to perfect it."

"Mmmm"

"Are you even listening to me, Alfred?"

A pair of blue eyes became visible in the dim of their room when Alfred rolled over to face him. He tucked his chin beneath Arthur's as he nuzzled closer, the man caught mildly off guard by his actions.

"Just this once, " Alfred mumbled, "I'll cave and say you were the hero."

Arthur let out a huff of disbelief, closing his eyes while burying his face into Alfred's tussled mane.

"Is that what's been on your mind this whole time?"

Arthur's smile widened, feeling the warm breath upon his neck when Alfred chucked.

"But next time, it's my turn, alright?"

"Alright."


End file.
